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“Tholie! A Maht e”

“Of course! I told you We are related” He grasped the hands that Jondalar had extended in friendship, which he had rejected before “I am Talut, headman of the Lion Camp”

Everyone was srin at her, then eyed her appreciatively “I see you are not traveling with a brother now,” he said to Jondalar

Jondalar put his ar look of pain wrinkle his brow before he spoke “This is Ayla”

“It’s an unusual name Is she of the river people?”

Jondalar was taken aback by the abruptness of his questioning, then, re Tholie, he smiled inwardly The short, stocky woreat hulk of athere on the riverbank, but they were chipped from the same flint They both had the saenuous—candor He didn’t knohat to say Ayla was not going to be easy to explain

“No, she has been living in a valley some days’ journey from here”

Talut looked puzzled “I have not heard of a wo nearby Are you sure she is Mamutoi?”

“I’m sure she is not”

“Then who are her people? Only ho hunt ion”

“I have no people,” Ayla said, lifting her chin with a touch of defiance

Talut appraised her shrewdly She had spoken the words in his language, but the quality of her voice and the way she e Not unpleasant, but unusual Jondalar spoke with the accent of a language foreign to him; the difference in the way she spoke went beyond accent Talut’s interest was piqued

“Well, this is no place to talk,” Talut said, finally “Nezzie will give me the Mother’s orath if I don’t invite you to visit Visitors always bring a little excitement, and we haven’t had visitors for a while The Lion Camp would welcome you, Jondalar of the Zelandonii, and Ayla of No People Will you come?”

“What do you say, Ayla? Would you like to visit?” Jondalar asked, switching to Zelandonii so she could answer truthfully without fear of offending “Isn’t it time you met your own kind? Isn’t that what Iza told you to do? Find your own people?” He didn’t want to see without anyone else to talk to, he was anxious to visit

“I don’t know,” she said, frowning with indecision “What will they think of me? He wanted to knoho my people were I don’t have any people any more What if they don’t like me?”